Quakes alive: Incline insures itself

The Mogul earthquake that shook Northern Nevada late Friday night also was felt by many in Incline Village.

Apparently, its effects also shook some area homeowners into buying earthquake insurance come Monday.

They may have been the lucky few, as insurance companies could be on the verge of placing a hold on the sale of earthquake insurance.

“Right now with the earthquakes here and in Reno, the companies could very well place a hold on selling earthquake insurance for 30 to maybe 45 days,” said Claudia Garcia, an agent with the Incline Farmers Insurance Group.

The hold, or moratorium, is placed to protect insurance companies against people buying insurance when a natural disaster appears evident, said Allstate Insurance agent David Hoopengardner.

“As soon as you get an event that looks like a natural disaster, the companies will withhold selling that insurance indefinitely until the disaster no longer looks imminent. Someone isn't going to be able to buy home insurance if they are on the edge of a wildfire, it doesn't make sense,” Hoopengardner said.

He, Garcia and State Farm agent Lisa Nannini, all advised people who are thinking of buying earthquake insurance to do so quickly.

“There is definitely a possibility that we wont be able to sell earthquake insurance any time now,” Nannini said.

As of Monday, many people beat the companies and bought the insurance.
Nannini said the amount of people who were buying earthquake insurance in previous weeks had increased — but more people than usual were asking for it Monday.

“We've had people calling for it all day today,” Nannini said.

Hoopengardner said he saw the same at Allstate, with agents selling the insurance all day.

“This will happen after an earthquake,” Hoopengardner said. “A lot of people will get policies after the fact because they realize what they could lose if a really damaging earthquake came through.”

In the past, Nannini said in her experience homeowners from California are more likely to ask for the insurance than owners from other states.

The temblor was one of many in the past weeks and months to hit Nevada, Oregon and California, and already in Reno insurance companies closed their doors to homeowners seeking the policies.

“I'd tell people now to work with an agent to get the coverage that's suitable for them,” Garcia said. “You don't want to try to buy it too late or not get it at all and risk serious damage when the big one hits.”

Friday’s earthquake, which struck near Mogul, was 4.7 in magnitude. It struck at about 11:40 p.m., and was felt by many along Lake Tahoe’s North Shore. Since then, many smaller quakes have rumbled in Northern Nevada.

The string of quakes around Reno began a week after a magnitude 6 temblor in the northern Nevada town of Wells, located near the Utah border. The Feb. 21 quake caused an estimated $778,000 in damage to homes, schools and historic downtown buildings, the Associated Press reported.

Scientists said they’re unsure whether the seismic activity at opposite sides of Nevada is related.

Also according to the AP, Nevada is the third most seismically active state in the U.S. behind California and Alaska. The Wells quake was the 15th of at least magnitude 6 in the state’s 143-year history.

A magnitude-7.4 quake south of Winnemucca in 1915 is the most powerful in state history.